Celebs like Aubrey Plaza and Emma Roberts are getting slammed for Big Milk ad campaigns: 'I thought we left the cow milk propaganda in the 90s'

Business Insider ^ | Jordan Hart

[nickcarraway]

-Actor Aubrey Plaza took heat after starring in a campaign that mocked plant-based milk with the fake brand "Wood Milk." -Social media users have been quick to call out Plaza, as well as others like Emma Roberts, for recent collaborations with Big Milk. -Last year, Gen Z purchased 20% less cow's milk than the national average, market research shows. For you: Insider Today newsletter — the day's most fascinating stories.

Big Milk is once again enlisting the help of celebrities to sell its products, but unlike the iconic "Got Milk?" ads of the 1990s and early 2000s, these new campaigns are sparking outrage in the era of plant-based milks.

Social media users are slamming celebrities like Aubrey Plaza and Emma Roberts for participating in what some are calling "cow milk propaganda" after starring in recent campaigns led by the Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP), the organization that created the "Got Milk?" ads and turned milk mustaches into a cultural phenomenon.

Their frustration comes as MilkPEP tries to curry favor with younger consumers who are increasingly turning to milk alternatives: In 2022 alone, Gen Z bought 20% less cow's milk than the rest of the US.

Plaza was the latest to take heat, after ads surfaced last week of the "White Lotus" star mocking plant-based milk in a promotion for a fake product called "Wood Milk." The rollout features social media accounts dedicated to the spoof company, a website, and even actual Wood Milk T-shirts.

"Is Wood Milk real? Absolutely not," Plaza said in the satirical commercial. "Only real milk is real."

The following disclaimer is featured at the bottom of Wood Milk's site: "Our eco-friendly shirts are legit and we will be planting real trees in the ground, but please be advised that Wood Milk is 100%

[airborne]

I have always thought she was HOT!

Now she’s even HOTTER!!